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Is the KMC X10sl GOLD chain worth the money?... I'm temptd to get one but wondering it there any real benefit to paying $60 or so for a chain instead of $30 for something else... They are TiN coated...? Do they last longer or stretch just the same as other chains. I've ridden the KMC X10 and wasn't overly impressed...

shinkansen wrote:Is the KMC X10sl GOLD chain worth the money?... I'm temptd to get one but wondering it there any real benefit to paying $60 or so for a chain instead of $30 for something else... They are TiN coated...? Do they last longer or stretch just the same as other chains. I've ridden the KMC X10 and wasn't overly impressed...

I've got the X10 Gold version (not the SL-version) from www.ts-bikes.be and the price was almost the same of a Campa Record chain. Other WW-members can explain more precisely the exact benefits of this chain, but my experience with it so far is that it seems more smooth than all chains I've been riding before. It should be more durable, I'm told; I'm using it only a month now, so I can't confirm this yet (durability of the Record chain is average, I changed those every 3000km or less: that contributed to a higher lifetime of cassette and chain rings).

Samu Ilonen wrote:Very interesting. What was the wear after 3000km? Like 0.3-0.4?

My experince is that Record chains are more like superrior in wear. Like 10-15 times over Shimano.

I haven't measured Samu, but I don't want to take any risk with it during the competition season. The wear wasn't too big and better than the Shimano ones I used before indeed. I once broke one in a sprint after only 2000km (including mostly competition kilometers).

The life time of Campa cassettes and chain rings is very high (up to 15000km), especially if you change the chain in time! In that sense Campa isn't more expensive than Shimano.

We're maybe experiencing an endemic Record chains' weakness in Belgium...

I suspect most LBS in Belgium don't bother to use the proper Campa tool to link the ends of the chain together.
This is mainly a concern with the newer C10 Ultra hollow roller ones, the ordinary C10 seems to take their abuse better....
As a beside, I also can't help but notice that most LBS set up a Campa group just like they would do with a Shimano. That sure is a way for rattleing chain troubles IMHO.

Other than that, I think the new KMC is a pretty good chain but let's see what the field experience will bring later on when there's some more serious miles on them.

Yes it is totally worth the money. If you want to make your bike look much more attractive or get that bling factor for your bike. As for the durability, it'll be just as durable as any high end chain give for take. The shifting on the chain is incredibly smooth, although the coating on the chain WILL wear off eventually depending on how many times your shift.

On a side note: I used to race although I wasn't an ultra serious contender. I had a pretty sexy bike and I noticed a lot of dudes eyeing my bike. *serious bling factor*(cause the gold chain was so shiny)